This Is Who I Am
by WinterSky101
Summary: He doesn't summon up the courage to ask until the year of his senior debut, when JJ tentatively tells his parents he wants to design his own costumes that season.


**This fic is for the event JJ Style Week, for the sixth prompt: Hobbies. Title comes from "Theme of King JJ."**

* * *

JJ, as he tends to do when he's nervous, rehearses what he's going to say in his mirror before he goes out to talk to his parents.

"Okay, Mom and Dad, so I wanted to ask if- No, that's not right. Mom, Dad, I want to- No, too forceful. Mom, Dad, could I please-"

"What are you _doing_?"

JJ turns to see his sister Hélène in the doorway, his brother Louis behind her. Hélène has her hands on her hips and a disdainful expression on her face that only a eleven year old can manage.

"Nothing," JJ replies quickly.

"You're such a dork," Hélène sighs. "At least close the door before you start talking to yourself in the mirror."

"What do you want to ask Mom and Dad?" Louis asks curiously.

" _Nothing_ ," JJ repeats, scowling. "Go away."

"We could pretend to be Mom and Dad, if you wanna practice!" Louis offers eagerly. "Hélène can be Mom, and I can be Dad!"

"I don't need to _practice_ ," JJ replies witheringly, as if that weren't what he was doing less than five minutes ago.

"Then why don't you go talk to Mom and Dad now?" Hélène challenges.

"Maybe I will!"

"Then do it!"

And that's how JJ ends up in the living room in front of his parents, wishing he hadn't risen to Hélène's bait. "JJ?" his mother prompts. "Do you want to say something, honey?"

"Um…" JJ shoots a look over at Hélène and Louis, who are in the doorway. He'd rather they not be there, but he has to ask now or face Hélène's victory. "I was wondering, um, if I could maybe, you know, design my own costumes for this season."

This, it seems, is not what anyone was expecting. "You're interested in fashion?" Hélène demands.

"Kind of," JJ hedges. "And I kind of have an idea for my costumes for these skates, so I was wondering if I could design them myself."

"Are you sure?" his mother asks. "You know I believe in you, no matter what, but this is your senior debut. People will remember these costumes."

"And I want to design them," JJ replies, forcing his voice to sound firm. He wants to sound more confident in his decision than he feels. He really wants to do this, to show the world that his JJ style isn't just confined to skating. He's always liked dabbling in fashion and designing clothes, and this is the perfect opportunity to show that to the world.

"Well," his father says, looking at his mother, "if you're sure, then we'll support you. But maybe check your ideas over with the usual designers first?"

"Okay," JJ agrees, because that's probably a good idea. He knows what he wants, but he's not an expert at this. He might design something that would be horribly uncomfortable to skate in without even knowing he's doing it. Checking it over with people whose job it is to make costumes for skaters is smart.

"You said you have some ideas," his mother says. "Can we see them?"

"Um." JJ shrugs. "I did a couple of sketches."

"Can we see?" his father asks.

"Yeah, we wanna see!" Louis cries.

"Let's see if they're any good," Hélène says, because she's eleven years old and thinks she's edgy.

JJ goes to his room and grabs his physics notebook. His mother raises an eyebrow when he flips through it to find his sketches.

"Have you been doing these sketches in class?"

"Um… No."

"Jean-Jacques…"

"Ooh, JJ's in _trouble_ ," Hélène sing-songs excitedly.

"I'm still passing!" JJ protests.

"You're supposed to do physics in physics class, not costume design," his father scolds.

"Do you want to see the sketches or not?" JJ asks, getting defensive despite himself.

"Show us your sketches, honey," his mother says soothingly. "But next time, try not to do them during class."

JJ scowls as he flips through his book to his best sketches. He's got a lot, some of them more detailed than others, but his most recent ones - done while the teacher was droning on and on about concepts he already understood and couldn't care less about - are his best.

"Okay, this is what I'm thinking for the short program," he tells his mother, passing over the notebook. She and his father look at the picture. JJ can see surprise on their faces. "Um, I'm thinking blue?" he adds quickly, his words coming a little too quickly. "And the back would be kind of sheer. Maybe woven with silver thread to make it shine a little?"

"That looks lovely," his mother says. "You really have a talent for this."

"Thanks," JJ replies. "And, um, this is my idea for the free skate costume." He flips to the next page. "I was thinking mostly black, but with the accents white? Or maybe rainbow. Or maybe the fabric could be gray, if the black would be too dark."

"This looks nice, King," his father compliments. "We'll have to talk with the designers about it, but I think those should work."

JJ can't help but smile. "I want the whole world to see my JJ style," he declares proudly.

Hélène gives him a dark look that only a eleven year old can manage. "I can't believe we're related."

* * *

Jean-Jacques Leroy skates onto the ice for the short program of his senior debut, proudly holding his head high and spreading out his arms to show off the light blue costume he's wearing, the back woven with glittering silver thread. He can hear the commentators talking about how he designed the costume himself, and he hears murmuring in the audience. It sounds positive, and everyone who's seen the costume so far has loved it.

Tomorrow, he'll wear his free skate costume, which is waiting in his hotel room. He knows his parents are right, people will remember his costumes from his senior debut. These costumes, the ones he designed, will become a part of his image.

JJ can't wait.


End file.
